GREENBUSH, Maine — Police are searching for the driver of a tractor-trailer who knocked down some utility lines along the Main Road Wednesday morning and bolted before law enforcement arrived, said Sgt. Mark Brooks of the Maine State Police.
Power and cable lines were ripped off poles at around 11:30 a.m. near where the Main Road, also known as U.S. Route 2, meets the north end of the Lower River Road.
The driver stopped his big rig long enough “to pull off wire on top off his truck,” Brooks said. “Then he quickly got back into his truck and took off.”
Police are asking the public for help in identifying the driver.
“We’d certainly appreciate a call at the Orono barracks, at 866-2121” from those in the area or those who have information about the driver, Brooks said.
An eyewitness to the accident said his main concern was the safety of his son.
“Me and my boy were outdoors and heard a big noise,” said Jason Nevells, who was with his 4-year-old son, Kole. “We looked up and the power lines were shaking” then “they were basically hanging in the road.
“We were right underneath it, so we took off pretty quick,” he added.
The witness said it looked like the metal hook that holds down the tractor-trailer’s cover somehow caught on the wires.
The driver, who pulled his vehicle over just down the road from Nevells’ house, “picked up a piece of metal and threw it in his truck and then took off,” he said.
About 10 minutes later, a second tractor-trailer went through the area, running over the downed lines, Nevells said.
A good length of power line was ripped off the poles by the truck, said Susan Faloon, spokeswoman for Bangor Hydro-Electric Co.
“It was a mile of line, but it only affected four customers,” she said.
Traffic was rerouted down the Lower River Road for a short time while Bangor Hydro crews repaired the lines.
Trooper Seth Edwards is assisting Brooks with the investigation and was talking to drivers who have big rigs that match the description of the suspect vehicle, Brooks said.
“The investigation continues,” he said.